Crumpled trucks littered the road and a tanker carrying ethanol spilled about half of its load along the highway, which links Toledo with Fort Wayne. Emergency crews and workers from the Environmental Protection Agency were able to contain the spill.

The accident happened in a rural area of Paulding County, about 60 miles southwest of Toledo. A handful of smaller vehicles also were caught up in the accident.

One driver who was not injured said he could see fine until he "drove into a wall of fog."

David Higgins told The Crescent-News in nearby Defiance that he was behind the initial accident. "The next thing I know, all I see is trucks all tangled up," he said.

Higgins said he drove his van into a ditch to avoid the trucks crashing around him.

Katie Hepler, a spokeswoman for Chrysler Group LLC, told The (Toledo) Blade that one of the tractor-trailers in the accident was a company truck going from Kokomo to Detroit. She said the driver was hurt and was taken to a hospital.

U.S. 24, a major cargo route between northern Indiana and Ohio, was shut down much of the day.